Deep Ellum Dallas Blonde
What the brewers say
“In a town famous for its bottled blondes, we’ve reset the bar. This golden ale combines citrusy and floral American hops with pale, Vienna, and wheat malts. It’s a balanced, sessionable brew.”
What our panel thought
Aroma: “Sweet biscuit notes mixed with grapefruit, tangerine, strawberry, melon, and just a touch of apple, pear, and bubblegum.”
Flavor: “Sweet caramel malt with some biscuit. A light hops spice character in the melon and berry family emerges before it finishes a bit sweet and quite dry (almost wine-like) with some esters of stone fruit—plum and cherry. Very restrained bitterness.”
Overall: “A very light, caramel malt– and fruity esters–forward beer. The laundry list of ester notes contribute some perception that the beer isn’t as crisp as one might expect for a blonde, and the experience gets a bit muddled relative to others in the style, but those are small quibbles for an otherwise enjoyable beer.”